Saphron Initiative is a left-of-center student activism and advocacy organization that mostly operates in Northern Virginia. The organization has released statements and signed on to a variety of left-of-center to far-left policy campaigns such as supporting various iterations of the Green New Deal and a other left-of-center environmental and social policies in Virginia and California. It also operates a tutoring program for high school students.

The group was founded in 2021 by two then-high school freshmen in Northern Virginia and has worked with other left-of-center organizing groups and labor unions including Greenpeace, Stand.Earth, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA), and Public Citizen.^{1 2}

Background

The Saphron Initiative was founded in 2021 by Zakareya Hamed and Neha Chandran. At the time of the organization’s founding, both co-founders were freshmen in high school. Both co-founders are from Northern Virginia, where Hamed attends McLean High School and Chandran attends the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Hamed leads the advocacy and political activism aspects of the group while Chandran operates the group’s tutoring activities. The group claims that it reaches over 11,000 students throughout the United States per month and is comprised of thirteen volunteer team members. The leaders of the group also reported logging over 300 hours of service on behalf of the group. ^{3 4}

Activities

Much of the activity of the group centers around opposing right-of-center policies, in particular the expansion of charter schools and school choice programs, and supporting a variety of left-of-center to far-left policies such as the Green New Deal. ^{5 6}

The organization has assisted in bringing high school-aged activists to the U.S. Capitol to lobby for far-left environmental legislation as well as funding for climate change “education programs” as well as mental health services to help young individuals deal with the “anxiety” that they claim is created by climate change. ⁷

The Saphron Initiative was also among the more than 200 organizations that comprised the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition, a group that urged shareholders and money managers including BlackRock and Vanguard to support activist shareholder resolutions that would “call for financial companies to align their business models with the actions that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has concluded are necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C, including policies to stop all financing activities for new fossil fuel expansion, which is inconsistent with the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.” ⁸

In 2022, the Saphron Initiative and the American Federation of Teachers Virginia (AFT Virginia) labor union called on Virginia leaders to maintain COVID-19 era mask mandates in all public schools. ⁹

The Saphron Initiative has also opposed the existence of charter schools and school choice programs and called for stricter regulation of them, stating, “As an organization, we’ve taken a position against school privatization and charter schools due to the disparities that privatization has led to.” The group also explicitly criticized right-leaning Hilldale College’s involvement in charter schools. ¹⁰

The organization also reports that it has been a cosponsor of the “Virginia Green New Deal and California Green New Deal” as well as worked with the offices of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representatives Cori Bush (D-MO), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Jason Crow (D-CO) on “advancing intersectional legislation.” ¹¹

1. “About Me.” Zakareya Hamed. Accessed May 3, 2023.  https://zakareyahamed.com/about-me
2. “Home.” Saphron Initiative. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://saphron0.yolasite.com/
3. “Home.” Saphron Initiative. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://saphron0.yolasite.com/
4. “Zakareya Hamed.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakareya/
5. “About Me.” Zakareya Hamed. Accessed May 3, 2023.  https://zakareyahamed.com/about-me
6. “Home.” Saphron Initiative. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://saphron0.yolasite.com/
7. “Youth Activists Push for Climate Change Bills.” NBC 4 Washington. March 29, 2023. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/changing-climate/youth-activists-push-for-climate-change-bills/3316702/
8. 200+ Organizations to Push for Yes Votes on Climate Resolutions at Financial Firms this AGM Season.” Stop the Money Pipeline. March 29, 2022. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://stopthemoneypipeline.com/200-organizations-to-push-for-yes-votes-on-climate-resolutions-at-financial-firms-this-agm-season/
9. ^[1] “Saphron Initiative and AFT Virginia Call for Maintaining COVID Measures and Protocols in Schools.” Saphron Initiative. March 1, 2022. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://express.adobe.com/page/QFnoa6S5LBW5d/
10. Hamed, Zakareya. “Charter schools must be regulated adequately, before it’s too late.” Medium. December 19, 2022. Accessed May 3, 2023. https://saphron.medium.com/charter-schools-must-be-regulated-adequately-before-its-too-late-ba691765fc4a
11. “About Me.” Zakareya Hamed. Accessed May 3, 2023.  https://zakareyahamed.com/about-me